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Good morning and happy FIRST FRIDAY of 2022!

I hope you had an exciting New Year celebration and that this year will be your best yet. ♥

I am thoroughly excited and joyful for 2022! It has been a very long while since I’ve been joy filled for what the future holds.

A few years ago I finally had the courage to confront the reality of where my life was. Decades had brought me to my knees in brokenness, confusion, doubt, insecurity, lies and emotional trauma and it was time to face the reality of it.

I spent a tremendous amount of time coming to terms with and grieving what I completely had disillusioned my life to be and had to accept the truth of what it was.

As it’s been said before, healing is hard but staying in brokenness is hard, too. You’ve got to choose which hard will be worth it.

In five years would you rather look back on yourself today in this moment and be proud of where your life is or look back and wish you had the courage to make some changes.

It’s taken copious amounts of prayer, tears, therapy, books, soul searching and conversations but I finally feel free.

The lies I was told about who I was are being replaced with truth of who I am in God.

The years of denying what my intuition was telling me has turned into trusting myself.

The painful reality of my situation still grieves me but the sting isn’t as sharp.

I finally feel like I am standing again – on very shaky legs, but still standing.

I’m only sharing all of this to say that no matter how long you have been praying over a situation, for it to get better, for truth to be revealed, for clarity, for healing, for God to open someone’s eyes to the pain they cause, or for their chains of bondage/addiction to break, don’t give up. Keep praying.

Our situations, however messy they are, are not overwhelming to God. He knows what you have been through and what you will face in the years to come.

He hears every cry of your heart.

Sometimes it may take decades of persistent prayer before you see evidence of God working, or even for you to finally gather enough courage to take a stand in the situation, or, it may be resolved the very next day. And sometimes our prayers aren’t answered exactly how we envisioned they would be.

Keep going. Keep looking up. Life is so messy but God is always steady.

I learned several valuable lessons over the past year, which you can read about HERE.

No matter where you are in your journey remember that God has you in the palm of His hand. The tears you cry over your situation are not ignored. He hears the cries of your heart without ever having to utter a word.

I’m praying 2022 will bring you blessing upon blessing. ♥

XO ~JB

P.S. If you’ve been around this corner of internet land for a minute you already know that words are my jam. And this post has lots of words that I’ve been reflecting on these past few weeks. I’m hopeful and ready for a year of personal flourishing.

P.S.² If you look closely at that last sentence you’ll see my 2022 word of the year. Post to come. 🙂

P.S.³ In case you’re interested, the following books are a few that I devoured during my journey towards healing:

• It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst
• Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst
• Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse by Jackson MacKenzie
• Psychopath Free (Expanded Edition): Recovering from Emotionally Abusive Relationships With Narcissists, Sociopaths, and Other Toxic People by Jackson MacKenzie
• How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Dr. Nicole LePera
• Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
• Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown
• Out of the Fog: Moving From Confusion to Clarity After Narcissistic Abuse by Dana Morningstar

JB Photo and Design, LLC | Jenni Blake is based out of Leavenworth County, Kansas but proudly serves the areas of Lawrence KS, Tonganoxie KS, Basehor KS, Eudora KS, Leawood KS, Mcclouth KS, Spring Hill KS, Gardner KS, Eudora KS, Lenexa KS, Olathe KS, Bonner Springs KS, Leavenworth KS, Overland Park KS and surrounding areas.  We love to capture images of seniors, families, children, events, landscape, maternity, and macro. But we also love to bake homemade items with love from our kitchen.

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